The Rise of Populism: Implications for International Stability and Global Democracy

Abstract

The early twenty first century has witnessed a global surge in populist leaders and movements, reshaping political landscapes and challenging the foundations of liberal democracy. This review synthesizes contemporary scholarship to explore the conceptual debates surrounding populism, its socio economic and cultural origins, and its consequences for domestic governance and international stability. Defined as a thin centered ideology rooted in moralized anti elitism and anti pluralism, populism gains traction in contexts marked by economic dislocation, cultural backlash, and declining trust in political institutions. Once in power, populist governments tend to undermine horizontal accountability, weaken the rule of law, erode civil liberties, and politicize state institutions, accelerating processes of democratic backsliding. Internationally, populism fuels skepticism toward technocratic global institutions, promotes sovereignty first foreign policy agendas, and contributes to the weakening of multilateral cooperation. By linking domestic illiberalism with revisionist international behavior, populism poses a multidimensional challenge to the post 1945 rules-based order. The review concludes by identifying key research gaps, emphasizing the need for comparative institutional analysis, long term assessments of populist economic policymaking, and strategies to reconcile democratic responsiveness with liberal pluralism.